Raising Student Awareness About Cyber Safety and Data Citizenship
May 19, 2021
JA Worldwide and the DQ Institute (DQI) signed a partnership agreement in February 2020 for the use of DQ World, an interactive online program teaching essential digital skills, including social media and internet identity management and safety for 7–12-year-olds. The gamified program is modular and each one-hour session, say cyber-bullying management, could be incorporated into existing JA programs. Pilots have been run in Colombia with Johnson & Johnson, Ecuador, and the Philippines, with Accenture and are currently being evaluated. Read more.
JA Philippines has partnered with DQI and Accenture to sponsor students to develop digital safety skills as they spend more time online. The partner organizations in this endeavor share an ambition to equip students with the knowledge, tools, and skills they need as they dive into the digital world.
The collaborative project aims to educate students about the importance of staying safe online. Online classes, online assignment submissions, and discussion boards, among other digital tools, have become standard for today’s students amid the pandemic. As such, they need to understand cyber safety and digital intelligence skills as part of their educations.
The interactive experience and curriculum from DQ World, an online gamified learning platform for digital intelligence skills explores eight areas of understanding: digital security, digital safety, digital use, digital identity, digital rights, digital literacy, digital communication, and digital emotional intelligence.
JA Philippines and Accenture have worked as partners at both the local and international levels, and they are set to start working on a new endeavor that will create an impact nationwide. This project will bring an impression benefitting the students of the next generation.
The pilot reached 400 students, for seven months, in two phases:
Phase 1: 100 students total—50 students from private schools and 50 students from public schools for the students.
Phase 2: 250 students total—100 private school students and 150 public school students.
These pilot objectives aimed to . . .
Measure students’ learning development after using the DQI platform and observe how it affects both private and public school students.
Collect insights on the unique challenges students faced to determine whether a better programming system should be used.
Identify the level of usability of the DQI platform for students.
The collaborative project ran from September 2020–April 2021. Phase 1 included 100 students, 50 each from both private and public schools. Half were part of the control group and the other half worked on the program implementation project, helping researchers better understand the impact of the platform.
In Phase 2, 250 students—100 from private schools and 150 from public schools—joined the project and went through the same process as those in Phase 1.
Additional activities, including a mini case study competition, allowed students to express their thoughts on how the platform helped them learn something new, including the dangers lurking on social media and how it can affect their perception of gadget usage and accessing social media accounts daily.
Content also included question-and-answer sessions using hypothetical scenarios.
Question: What would you do if a man suddenly messages you on one of your social media accounts?
Student answer: “Hackers are everywhere. They are going to get access to your account and use your identity for crime, vandalism, and identity theft because hackers love social networking. For me, if a stranger messages me on social media, I won’t open it and would directly inform my parents about it. After that, I’d block him/her. Strangers have ways to hamper students’ academic lives and detach from the real world.” –Ylvie Dayne Joy M. Torillo, District of Isabela I, Isabela West Elementary School
Question: The second question centers on their experiences after learning with DQi on matters involving the restrictions to follow when accessing one’s social media accounts and their usage of their gadgets.
Student answer: “I need to have a balanced use of my gadgets so I can spend more time on the more important things. When using social media, I need to be aware of the dangers it may bring to me and my family. I need to be cautious when sharing stories, making sure that they are true, and not spreading false or fake news that might hurt others. DQI taught me to be a disciplined citizen when using gadgets and social media platforms.” –Jethro Barrios, District of Murcia I, Hacienda Puyas Elementary School
Students have benefitted from the collaborative project of the three companies in assuring them the key points needed to be remembered when diving into the digital era even now that we’re in a pandemic.
For further information on the DQ World program, please contact Michael Mercieca at JA Worldwide.